Selling a junk or dead car in Cuyahoga Falls

Junk, or only unlicensed?

Two sections sit side by side, and a car can fall under either one.

Section 351.18, junk vehicles. Besides the no-plates, 48-hour test, a car counts as junk if it is not roadworthy. The code's examples: a missing motor, transmission, headlight, door, hood, windshield, wheel or tires, a badly damaged body, a broken axle, broken windows. A junk car may not sit on public property or any place open to public driving. Off the street, the code names only a lawful private garage or a parking garage. Two defenses exist: the car was kept the wrong way for under 24 consecutive hours, or the person runs a lawful impound lot, repair garage, junkyard or scrap processor.

Section 351.19, unlicensed vehicles. Any unlicensed car of any kind, attended or not, gets 48 hours on property in the city. A building, garage or carport takes it out of the rule. Every day the violation lasts is its own offense.

The city's code enforcement office puts abandoned and inoperable vehicles, boats and trailers on its list of the violations it handles most. Its complaint line is (330) 971-8135.

Street parking and tows

Section 351.07 limits a parked car to 24 consecutive hours on a street or highway, and 48 on other public ground, whether the city, the Board of Education, the county, the state or the federal government controls it. Under 303.07, police may impound a car on a street or public property that has no current plates, a car wrecked so it can't run, and a car blocking street cleaning, repairs or snow removal.

A car left on a private lot without the owner's permission for at least 48 hours can be towed too. The person in charge of the property complains to an officer and signs an affidavit saying so.

After any tow, the police department is bound to take reasonable steps to let the registered owner know about the tow, the reason for it and the storage location. Only tow companies City Council has authorized may tow at an officer's order, into an impound area the Director of Public Safety approves.

Getting the car back under 303.08 takes evidence of identity and of ownership, plus the receipt the Municipal Court clerk or a deputy issues once the traffic-code fines and fees are paid. Towing and storage are paid to the police department's Traffic Division. Plead not guilty or protest the charges, and a bond set by the court can take the place of payment. Dispatch answers non-emergency calls around the clock at (330) 928-2181.

Title work from Cuyahoga Falls

The nearest Summit County title office is 1030 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron, about 6.8 miles away to the southeast, as the crow flies. The Northfield Village office, 10333 Northfield Rd., is about 11.1 miles north. Ohio does not tie you to your own county, and Medina County's Wadsworth office is about 12.6 miles southwest.

Every Ohio seller signs the title in a notary's presence, and you are no exception. Lost the title? Start with junk car with no title. Then take the plates off: they belong to you, and the registration ends once the car is sold. If the car sat a long time before this, car sitting for years has the rest.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, describe the car: model year, make, model, the odometer reading, whether the engine runs, and whether its plates are current. Pickup costs nothing in Akron, Stow and Hudson as well. Statewide rules are on the Ohio page.